By Mitch Herckis, Route Fifty

WASHINGTON — In what seems to be a pattern for many major cities across the United States, it’s hard to scan the horizon in the District of Columbia and not notice the cranes dotting skyline.

The nation’s capital grew by 100,000 residents over the last 15 years to 675,000. It’s quite the turnaround story for a city that lost a quarter of its population during waves of social unrest, rioting, crime and drug epidemics from the 1960s through the 1980s.